Durga Puja muhurat
Durga Puja 2026
Friday, 16 October 2026
Durga Puja 2026, Bengal's major festival, runs from Maha Shashthi (October 17) through Vijayadashami (October 21). It maps onto days 6-10 of Sharad Navratri, but Bengal's attention centres on pandals, the clay pratimas, the beat of the dhak, and the Sandhi Puja that binds Ashtami to Navami. Below is the full five-day calendar, the significance of Sandhi Puja, Sindoor Khela, and immersion.
Auspicious muhurat
Ghatasthapana muhurat: 6:19 AM to 10:12 AM. Abhijit muhurat: 11:44 AM to 12:31 PM (New Delhi).
Check your city's muhurat →Days around this festival
Sunday, 11 October 2026
Sharad Navratri
Monday, 19 October 2026
Durga Ashtami
Tuesday, 20 October 2026
Dussehra (Vijayadashami)
The five days: schedule, vidhi and traditions
Durga Puja celebrates the Goddess's victory over the buffalo-demon Mahishasura. When Brahma's boon made him invincible, the combined shakti of all the gods manifested as Devi Durga, who slew him on the tenth day after a nine-night battle. In Bengal, tradition holds that during these days the Goddess visits her parental home on Earth (from Kailash), bringing her children, Ganesh, Kartikeya, Lakshmi and Saraswati, along.
Maha Shashthi (October 17, with Bilva Nimantran the evening before on October 16): the puja opens with "Bodhon", invoking the Goddess under a bel tree. Pandals reveal their pratimas for the first time ("anavaran").
Maha Saptami (October 18): "Nabapatrika snan", nine plants (banana, turmeric, pomegranate, bel, ashoka and others) are bundled, bathed in the river, and installed as a form of the Goddess. Bengalis affectionately call this "Kola Bou".
Maha Ashtami (October 19): the day of "Kumari Puja" (worshipping a young girl as the Goddess) and, above all, "Sandhi Puja". Sandhi Puja is performed in the last 24 minutes of Ashtami and the first 24 minutes of Navami, the exact junction at which the Goddess is said to have slain Chanda and Munda. 108 lamps and 108 lotuses are offered.
Maha Navami (October 20): the puja concludes with the havan and Maha Aarti, the day of the Goddess's complete victory over Mahishasura.
Vijayadashami (October 21): "Sindoor Khela", married women offer sindoor to Maa Durga and smear it on each other. In the evening the "Bisarjan" (immersion) procession bids the Goddess farewell, the beat of the dhak, calls of "Asche bochor abar hobe" (she will come again next year), and tears in the eye.
Sandhi Puja and Visarjan timing
Sandhi Puja is regarded as the pivotal moment of Durga Puja, a 48-minute junction spanning the last 24 minutes of Ashtami and the first 24 minutes of Navami. This exact window depends on when the tithi ends at your city's longitude, so it shifts slightly city to city.
In Kolkata the Sandhi Puja muhurat on October 19, 2026 is 10:27 AM to 11:15 AM (Ashtami tithi ends at 10:51 AM). For other cities, check the panchang page for your city. Households doing puja offer 108 lamps, 108 lotuses, and red hibiscus flowers during this 48-minute window.
Visarjan processions leave on Dashami evening after Baran (farewell rituals) and Sindoor Khela. In Kolkata immersion happens on the Ganga ghats; in other cities at a local river or tank. Use only clay pratimas with natural pigments, kinder to the water and to the tradition.
Relation to Navratri: Durga Puja is the Bengali-centred expression of the last five days of Sharad Navratri (October 11-19). For Ghatasthapana on Day 1, see the Navratri page.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What are the Durga Puja 2026 dates? +
Durga Puja 2026 (Kolkata) runs from Maha Shashthi (October 17, Saturday) to Vijayadashami (October 21, Wednesday). Saptami is October 18, Ashtami and Sandhi Puja are October 19, and Navami is October 20.
What is Sandhi Puja and why is it done? +
Sandhi Puja is a 48-minute ritual at the junction of Ashtami and Navami, the last 24 minutes of Ashtami and the first 24 minutes of Navami. Tradition holds this is the exact moment the Goddess slew the demons Chanda and Munda, which is why it is regarded as the pivotal moment of the whole puja.
What is Sindoor Khela? +
On Vijayadashami day, married women offer sindoor, paan and sweets to Maa Durga, then apply sindoor to each other. It's an emotional farewell ritual as the Goddess leaves her parental home. In recent years many pandals have opened it to all women.
What is the difference between Durga Puja and Navratri? +
The tithis are the same, both fall during Sharad Navratri. The difference is tradition: North India's Navratri centres on nine-day worship of the nine Devi forms with fasting and Garba-Dandiya; Bengal's Durga Puja focuses on days 6-10 with pandals, pratimas, dhak, and Sandhi Puja.
What is Nabapatrika (Kola Bou)? +
On Saptami, nine plants, banana, turmeric, pomegranate, bel, ashoka, jayanti, arum, kachu, and paddy, are tied together, bathed in a river, dressed in a red-bordered sari, and installed beside the Goddess. Bengal calls this "Kola Bou" (banana bride). It is the worship of Devi in nine botanical forms, not, as sometimes said, Ganesh's wife.
Can we do Durga Puja at home? +
Yes. "Barir Pujo" (household puja) has centuries of tradition. Families without the means for a full pratima do "Ghot Puja": install a kalash, invoke the Goddess for five days, offer aarti, flowers, and naivedya, and immerse the kalash on Dashami. For a full pratima puja, work with a priest for the rituals.
How to celebrate Durga Puja abroad? +
Local Bengali associations organise pandals in London (Camden, East London), New York, New Jersey, Toronto, Sydney, Singapore, Dubai, and many EU cities. Sandhi Puja timing is fixed by the tithi in Indian calendar terms but translates to your local time, select your city on the panchang page for the local minute.
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